Poll: 43% of Young Adults View Sharia Positively

A late-September poll of likely voters by Our Republic and Rasmussen Reports found that 43% of respondents ages 18–24 viewed Sharia law positively, compared with 21% of voters overall; 57% overall viewed it negatively. Positive views were also reported by 39% of respondents ages 25–29. Asked about allowing Sharia to become the legal code in a U.S. town, city, or state if a majority favored it, about one-quarter of voters ages 18–35 said they would support the proposal, compared with 7% of respondents overall. The poll also found that 76% opposed requiring public schools to teach the benefits of Sharia. Our Republic’s president attributed younger respondents’ views in part to limited understanding of constitutional protections, while Republican lawmakers Chip Roy and Keith Self argued that Sharia is incompatible with the Constitution; the poll measures respondents’ reported opinions and hypothetical support, not actual adoption of such laws.